The
United States government has backed and continues to back Arab
uprisings in the hope that these post revolutionary Arab societies adopt
democratic institutions that will moderate and liberalize these Arab
countries.[i]
However, these post revolutionary Arab states remain ethnically
divided, corrupt, and vulnerable to militant Islamists despite elections
and having democratic institutions. If precedent continues, a
post-Assad Syria will be divided, corrupt and remain anti-Western. The
problem is neither American policymakers nor Arab revolutionaries truly
know what is required for a stable democratic republic to work. Press releases
and government speeches only speak of institutions or policies when
mentioning democracy. In reality, the political culture that exists in a
society predetermines the success of its institutions yet state
institutions are the only factor that policymakers focus on.
Many in the Arab and Western societies understand democracy as an abstract idea but fumble when attempting to describe it in tangible detail. Clarifying democracy is not easy, and few policy experts want to undertake the endeavor. But policymakers must know for certain what they want as an outcome before backing any endeavor in Syria because no post-Assad plan exists in the UN or elsewhere. Popular platitudes include free elections, legislatures, and civilian control of the military but democracy is not only a set of policy initiatives.[ii]
Many in the Arab and Western societies understand democracy as an abstract idea but fumble when attempting to describe it in tangible detail. Clarifying democracy is not easy, and few policy experts want to undertake the endeavor. But policymakers must know for certain what they want as an outcome before backing any endeavor in Syria because no post-Assad plan exists in the UN or elsewhere. Popular platitudes include free elections, legislatures, and civilian control of the military but democracy is not only a set of policy initiatives.[ii]
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